Easily customize ICS files for Outlook and Apple calendars to include all the details your attendees need. Add key information, links, and more to foster a seamless add-to-calendar experience.
ICS files allow your registrants and attendees to add your webinar or event to their personal calendar, boosting engagement and ensuring attendance for your content. With these new settings, you can fully customize the text and content of these ICS files to better align with your message.
While this setting primarily focuses on ICS files for Apple and Outlook calendars, changing the title and description from the default will also affect the Google Calendar invite.
Previously, when creating an ICS file, you had two options:
- BigMarker creates ICS file. This was essentially hidden from the user, might have automatically generated text that won't work for the event or use-case
- Upload a custom ICS file. This could be a bit cumbersome because you had to have an ICS file ready, usually by using a 3rd-party website
With this new update to our ICS customizations, the process is simpler:
In your webinar dashboard, go to the Emails & Invitations page at the top of the screen and fine ICS File in the left-hand navigation menu.
When editing the ICS file on BigMarker, any tokens available in the email can now be used in the ICS file description and title itself. Simply fill out the form with the necessary details of the calendar invite and Save.
An important setting to keep in mind is the Request Type
This customized ICS file will now be attached in all registration notification and reminder emails, as well as available to download on the landing and confirmation pages. You can also use the token {ics-direct-link} in your emails for a direct link to download the ICS file.
Replacing calendar invites
With the ICS file editor, you have another option to replace an existing calendar invite. If users registered for one event and got a calendar invite, you can make it so a separate event's calendar invite would replace the first.
One common use case is you might have one session or series that acts as your save-the-date. Registrants get a calendar invite after registering that has some generic information. When you're ready you then launch a new event page that is the actual event, and it has a calendar invite that is much more detailed. You would want your actual event's calendar invite to replace your save-te-date.
In the ICS editor, look for the setting Replace Calendar Event. Enable this and you will see a dropdown menu. In this menu you'll be able to search through all of the content on you channel. You can only choose one webinar or series from here. The webinar chosen determines which calendar invite will be replaced by the one being edited.
